Friday, 27 September 2013

Although
I am not into politics and do not intend to get involved I thought I would
comment on Zimbabwe’s new cabinet. I was disappointed by the government of
Zimbabwe only having 3 women in the new cabinet. In many developing countries
women carry the burden of care for the family ,discrimination, abuse, rape, violence
like Female Genital Mutilation and it’s a miracle that they even get the chance
to get educated.

Women make up 34% of the 8th Parliament of Zimbabwe, with 32% in the National
Assembly and 48% of Senate.

Although the quota for women in parliament led to the dramatic increase from
19% in 2008 to 34%, the number of women who actually won fell from 34 to 26.

The cabinet appointments were the country’s last opportunity to bolster the
numbers of women in power. Moreover, because these appointments are chosen and
not elected, this presented a chance for political leaders to prove their
commitment to gender equality.

Women’s representation in the new cabinet stands at 11.5%, down from 16% in the
2008 cabinet.

Mugabe appointed only three women ministers out of 26.

Dr Olivia Muchena is the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education; Oppah
Muchinguri is Minister of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development and
Sithembiso Nyoni remains Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises. Mugabe also
appointed 24 deputy ministers of which only four are women.

Outside of cabinet, Flora Bhuka is now one of the Ministers of State for
Presidential Affairs. Two female Ministers of State will lead Harare
and Bulawayo
provinces, while eight men will lead the rest of the country.

The underrepresentation of women in parliament, and now in cabinet means Zimbabwe has
failed to meet the SADC Gender Protocol target of at least 50% representation
of women in all areas of political decision by 2015.

This failure also mocks the new Zimbabwe Constitution, which specifically aims
to promote gender balance.

The Constitution clearly stipulates, "1(a) The State must promote the full
participation of women in all spheres of Zimbabwean society on the basis of
equality with men; (b) the State must take all measures, including legislative
measures, needed to ensure that (i) both genders are equally represented in all
institutions and agencies of government at every level; and (ii)women
constitute at least half the membership of all Commissions and other elective
and appointed governmental bodies established by or under this Constitution or
any Act of Parliament.”

Asked why there are so few women in cabinet, Mugabe explained that there are
less educated women in Zimbabwe.

“Education is for all now… It is no longer necessary for us to have affirmative
action, it is now free for all. Let women contest alongside men without
any preferential treatment," Mugabe said.

He also added that women should perform better in elections if they want to
make it to cabinet.

On the contrary, affirmative action along with political will is imperative for
redress. Had Zimbabwe
not fast tracked the land resettlement scheme, the country would still be
sitting with unequal land ownership. The same is true for redressing women
issues.

As long as our leaders do not strive to implement all the policies in place to
address imbalances, then the oppression of the majority, those that actually
put them in political office, will continue and this sadly will affect women
more.

It is fact that there are more women voters than men. Denying women equal and
full participation in decision-making is unmistakably undemocratic.

I call on the women leaders to reconfigure their
role in the political sphere and encourage more women to stand for political
office. They should identify and support those women who have the potential to
lead.
Men look out for each other and so should women.

On
all election campaigns, women were on the forefront so why should they not be
in the cabinet?

I urge all women to claim their space in politics and use their initiative and
agency, because our empowerment cannot be left to male politicians. Politics
needs Women.

It is high time women ensure that they shape the agenda and position themselves
at the heart of our struggle for equality and liberation struggle.

Finally, those SADC countries set to hold elections before 2015, must take up
the 50/50 campaign wholeheartedly, following in the footsteps of countries like
Seychelles with 44% women in
parliament, South Africa
with 41% in Cabinet and Lesotho
with 49% women in local government.

Women
of the world, lets refuse to be branded sexually, socially, mentally and
physically. Let’s be what we want and we can do it.

Thursday, 26 September 2013

In
life, we have many different kinds of experiences – good and bad, and it's up
to us to create our own experience of the various situations we find ourselves
in. This is why it's important to have a positive mindset, to make it our
intention to live life positively each day.

To live a positive life you need to create positive habits so that you are able
to focus on what truly matters. Here are ten simple ways to inspire you to do
just that:

1. Celebrate being alive

Live your life as if you are the most fortunate person! All you have to do is
make it your intention to remind yourself how fortunate you are and to apply it
to everything you do. It really is as simple as changing your mindset.

2. Become aware of your thoughts

When you consciously become aware of your thoughts it's easy to spot the
negative ones. Make it your intention to replace them with positive thoughts.
You might be thinking that it is easier said than done, but with lots of
mindful practice it will become second nature.

3. Stop comparing yourself to others

We often feel down and out when we start comparing ourselves to others.
Remember, it's all relative - you don't know the journey of another person –
you don't know what they are going through. Respect and accept it for what it
is, but most of all, accept yourself as you are because you are amazing.

4. Surround yourself with positive people

Positive people are contagious! Get out there and mingle with them. The
technologies of today are also making it possible to connect with positive
people from all over the world through social networks, blogs and websites.
Subscribe to motivational newsletters, read articles, and bask in others'
positivity!

5. Stop complaining, take responsibility, and smile more

When you find yourself complaining, it means you are not taking responsibility.
If you want something done, just do it! But remember to do it with a smile.

6. Focus on what you have, not on what you don't have

As the saying goes, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer”. When you
focus on abundance, more will be given unto you. You will attract more into
your life by focusing on what you have, and in so doing, the universe will give
you more of it.

7. See failure as a stepping stone to success

Failing at something doesn't mean it is the end of the world. Embrace the
failure and know that a few weeks, months, or years from now this will become
an inspirational story to tell others one day when you have achieved your
success! Also remember that failure could mean the birth of something new, and
better for your journey.

8. Be grateful for the things you already have

When you feel grateful for the little things, you will instantly feel shift in
your mood. When you wake up, start counting all your blessings, no matter how
small – be it the toothpaste so you could brush your teeth, the bread on your
table, or even the mere fact that you have a table to put your bread on!
Remember, you are fortunate – someone else doesn't have these little
luxuries. Don't take anything for granted. You are lucky.

9. Stop allowing criticism from others to get you down

When someone compliments us, we don't remember it. When they criticise us, we
have sleepless nights trying to figure out how we can fix it! Accept that it is
just one person's opinion – take what you need, and move on. Don't allow it to
control you otherwise you'll just end up losing getting yourself down and it's
just not worth it.

10. Realize that you have a choice to be positive today

It's a simple intention you set for yourself each day. When you open your eyes
in the morning, make it your intention to say "Today is a great
day!".

Monday, 23 September 2013

Your entire genital region is usually referred to as your vagina, but the
vagina is just part of it. The outer portion is called the vulva – which
includes the inner and outer labia, the clitoris, clitoral hood, and the
opening to the urethra and vagina. The actual vagina is an internal structure,
along with the other parts of the female reproductive system including the
cervix, uterus, ovaries and Fallopian tubes (which are sometimes called the
oviducts).

Sweating down there is normal
And is actually quite necessary. Below the skin of your labia and the hood of
your clitoris, there are hundreds of teeny tiny little glands producing sweat
and oil so that your lady bits don’t overheat or get damaged by friction.

The vagina is self-cleaning
And cleaning it with things like douchebags (this,
not that) is not recommended by doctors. Your
flower bud has colonies of mutually symbiotic flora and microorganisms that
protect against dangerous microbes. Disrupting this balance can cause yeast
infections, abnormal discharge, and more.

There are apparently over 200 names for your ‘special place’
These include passion flower, pink pearl, ya ya, fuzzy taco, crotch mackerel,
cod canal, fuzzy lap flounder, yoni, warehouse of warmth, land down under, and
chatterbox. And those are just the nice ones.

Each vagina has its own smell
The smell depends on a variety of factors, including the combination of normal
bacteria that live in the vagina, diet, the types of fabric each woman wears,
her level of hygiene, how much she sweats, and gland secretions. It can also
change during the course of the day. After exercise, during menstruation, or
after sex the vagina smells differently.

Masturbation is good for you
At least, it’s what most doctors say. It’s safe sex (but if you’re using sex
toys, remember to clean them), it’s a stress reliever, and helps build pelvic
floor muscles.

Do you really have a g-spot?
Most researchers believe that the little pleasure zone called the G-Spot
is two to three inches inside the vagina, on the anterior wall (near the
belly button), just under the urethra. But there are others who believe it doesn’t exist at all. The best person to
know would be you.

The clitoris is purely for pleasure
Made up of over 8000 nerve endings (double the number in the penis), that
little pink nub is a powerhouse for pleasure. Here’s how to use it to its full potential.

Woman can ejaculate too
Not all women can, but it is possible, and completely normal. During orgasm,
some women release a milky fluid from the para-urethral glands inside the
urethra. This results in what is termed as a ‘squirt’. And, of course, there is
actually a record for the farthest distance that a woman has ejaculated: 3 metres.

Do not have
it cut or mutilated if you ever had a choice. We don’t need to change the way
we look down there. No to Female GenitalMutilation!

Sunday, 22 September 2013

Having been campaigning for
an end to the horrific practice of FGM, I would want to share some of my
thoughts regarding prosecutions of perpetrators of this crime. There is need
for the law to be seriously involved.

However I also think
prosecutions alone (like for murderers, paedophiles etc) will work well with
more awareness and working together by different sections of the communities.
Female Genital mutilation is child abuse and should be talked about freely
without fear of being accused of racism or prejudice and treated the same way
as all other forms of child abuse.

Prosecutions and most importantly
awareness, on the dangers of FGM and training those who work with children
could be beneficial to all involved. Without training of those working with
children, it will be difficult to bring anyone to justice. A survey I did in
Oxfordshire among teachers for example revealed that 1 in 10 people knew what
FGM is and had no idea of the numbers of girls at risk in the UK. Talking
about child abuse, even after the case of Baby P, there have been more cases of
child abuse even with prosecutions. What are we doing wrong,?

What is the best approach to ending female genital
mutilation?

A much more rigorous
approach is needed, a review of what activists are doing now and see its
effectiveness.

A systematic review by Berg
and Denison
(2012) found that there was little

evidence of the
effectiveness of interventions to prevent FGM. The review

highlights that the factors related
to the continuation or discontinuation of

the practice varied across
contexts; however, the main factors supporting the

practice were tradition,
religion and concern with reducing women’s sexual

desire.

Conversely, health
complications and lack of sexual satisfaction did not favour support of the
practice.

However, a wealth of
evaluations of anti-FGM programmes from many countries exists, which can
provide guidelines for good practice. These strategies are summarized below.

This is no time to be lone
rangers –re FGM. For it to work there is need for a holistic approach which
does not isolate those from FGM practising communities.

Understand the social dynamics of decision-making
related to FGM

Decision-making and
practices in many communities involve more than just

individuals and families–
they are embedded in community or group dynamics. Interventions that target
individuals, families or excisers alone are

therefore unlikely to be
effective eg. A research in Gambia
and Senegal
found that decisions about FGM were made by more than one member of the family,
including mothers, fathers, grandparents and aunts.

Fathers were less supportive
of FGM than mothers, and were often crucial to

decisions not to subject
their daughters to the procedure.

In light of these findings
and other research on decision-making in relation to

FGM, it is recommended that preventive interventions include elements
of community dialogue; understanding of the importance of local rewards and
punishments and a method for coordinating change among social groups that
includes men and women from multiple generations within the community and
related communities

Work with – not against – cultural and community
practices and beliefs

FGM has rarely been
abandoned when programmes against the practice have been perceived by the
community as attacking and criticizing local culture and values, and/or as
driven by outsiders. On the contrary, defensive reactions, including mass-FGM
initiatives and proclamations in support of the practice, can result.

Evaluations suggests that
reinforcing positive cultural values can be more effective , as can supporting
community dialogue aimed at finding ways to signify a girl’s coming of age that
do not involve cutting.

Target local, national and international levels of
influence

Grass-roots-level
interventions have been shown to benefit from complementary national responses.
In addition, ethnicity – a major predictor of the type of FGM practised – can
span national borders; thus interventions targeting a particular ethnic group
should consider cross-border coordination.

Legal sanctions against FGM
are the most common type of intervention at the

national and international
levels but there is strong evidence that laws alone are not enough. Nevertheless,
legislation creates an enabling environment for interventions at the local
level, as illustrated in Ghana
and Senegal.

Legislation and codes of
conduct have also been shown to be important in relation to communities that
practise FGM outside their countries of origin.

A study in the European
Union found that effective implementation of laws

related to FGM is associated
with better knowledge, including how to deal with an at-risk girl, and
attitudes among health-care providers who are in contact with these populations

Together FGM can be a thing
of the past but all parties in FGM communities have to be involved from the
onset. FGM activists out there be careful as you move into people’s communities
and keep up the good work.

Abigal Muchecheti is an author
of a book, “A lost Youth”a book on Female Genital Mutilation.

Monday, 2 September 2013

Now that the schools will be open soon in the UK, it is a shame to
imagine what some of the girls from FGM practising communities have gone
through in the name of culture or custom. The months of July to September in some FGM practising communities are considered "cutting season" where girls are mutilated. Most families in the diaspora take their children back to the countries of origin to have this procedure done. Unfortunately this is done in the name of culture. People seem to forget that culture evolves and even developed
countries have long since left some dangerous practices like (workhouses-which did not take into consideration the mental and physical state of all involved and
prosecuting gay people in the UK, etc). Why then do some FGM practising communities use
culture to harm their children? A culture should be questioned at all costs if
it is harmful.

Meaning of custom:custom, habit, practice mean an established way of doing things. Custom,
applied to a community or to an individual, implies a more or less permanent
way of acting reinforced by tradition and social attitudes / A practice followed by
people of a particular group or region.

Having established what a custom is, it is clear from the
above definitions that customs are not rigid. They can change and be stopped at
any stage of their existence. One would think a custom worth mentioning should
be the one that people are proud of. However with FGM, the way it’s so
secretive, I can’t help but think that even the FGM enthusiasts knows very well
that this is a harmful, cruel and unnecessary practice. Who wouldn’t if the
truth be said and it is such a shame that the practice still exist in the 21st
Century. There is no doubt that all of those people involved with FGM have seen
death, misery and prolonged physical and mental illness as a result of FGM. How
then can people not see that? But not for long of course!

Culture definition

‘’The sum of
attitudes, customs, and beliefs that distinguishes one group of people from
another. Culture is transmitted, through language, material objects, ritual, institutions,
and art, from one generation to the next.’’

The problem I have
with the above definition is it claims that culture does not change and this is
what the FGM enthusiasts use as an excuse for chopping girls and women’s parts.
But honestly culture does change and most African cultures have long since
changed. Why then justify a practice that is so harmful both physically and
mentally in the name of culture? The problem I have with FGM enthusiasts is
that they claim FGM is part of African Culture. It is not and let us not define
ourselves by cherry picking what we like just to make up for evil practices. I
think the word culture has always been misused by people who try to make
excuses for bogus traditions. The problem then is even those from parts of the
world where FGM is not practised who should help end this horrific practice once
they hear the word culture, they move aside and become spectators. This to me
explains why FGM has survived this long.

We now live in a global village where not one culture has
survived untouched. Even those tribes living hidden in the Amazon have had
their ways of doing things changed by events happening around the world. So
claiming that FGM is a culture is wrong. Why keep only that part of culture?
Why not keep it all including hunting and gathering and all the rest of it?

To those FGM practising communities and enthusiasts, it is
time to let go. FGM will not survive for much longer.

What can schools do?

It is vital for schools to create a culture where children
feel able to come forward if they or a friend is at risk or has been a victim
of FGM. If a child approaches a member of staff, they must be able to act on
this information. This means schools need a clear protocol in place for
handling FGM concerns.

If a child has already undergone the procedure it should be
reported so that the child is provided with appropriate care and support. Signs
that could indicate a girl has had FGM include:

•Being
absent for a long time or during her period.

•Going to
the toilet more often than usual or for a long time.

•Not able
to cross her legs when sitting on the floor, trying to get out of PE.

•Urinary
tract infections, being in pain, clutching her body.

•Sudden
changes in behaviour (quiet/subdued/misbehaving).

•Talk
about something somebody did to them that they are not allowed to talk about.

What to do if you are
concerned about someone who is at risk of FGM

•Talk to
them about your concerns in simple straightforward speech; if you ridicule you lose
the chance of making a difference

·Be sensitive

·Consult a child protection advisor and make a
referral to children’s’ social care

What
to do if you have had the FGM done?

As I write this article, for some girls the
procedure might have already been done while they were on holiday. Many
families from the FGM practising communities take girls to their country of
origin to have the procedure carried out. When they return, the girls are told
not to talk about FGM and told of how they might be taken away from their
family if people were to know about FGM.

My advice is seeking help from specialist
health services. There are specialist clinics around the UK and in some of
these one can have a reversal procedure.

DO NOT KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF. TALK TO
SOMEONE, A TEACHER OR A SCHOOL NURSE FGM IS CHILD ABUSE AND A CRIME!

Quotes

Married to a Devil

About Me

Welcome to my blog!
I hope you find it interesting. If there is nothing of interest today,please keep on checking. You may never know what tomorrow has.
I write about issues that affect women mostly in the underdeveloped parts of the world. My first book is called 'Married to a Devil'.
Don't get me wrong,I also write about men.
Buy my book 'Married To A Devil' on Amazonor buy from Chipmunkapublishing.co.uk